


Break a mirror, roll the dice

by shiverouis



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Friends With Benefits, M/M, Past Keith/Kinkade, Pining Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2019-12-27 01:49:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18294404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiverouis/pseuds/shiverouis
Summary: Keith is trying to cope with an unexpected breakup, and he believes Pidge's friend, Lance, would be a good distraction.After just a couple hours, Lance is already in too deep to disagree.





	1. Broken Clocks

Keith did not actually think that his life was boring, despite what he had told his older brother a handful of hours earlier. He only had a couple complaints about the fact that he had to work every night at the little pub Shiro had opened with the money he had inherited from their father, and he usually had better plans in mind than bringing the clients the cocktails his brother in law made. He didn’t even receive the honor of being entertained by the people who showed up there: it was always the same crowd, usually composed of a couple of Adam’s coworkers, a small group of eighteen-year-olds that both Shiro and Adam were too tired to question, and a lady that always came with two men, ordered a coffee and sat at the table until closing time doing tarot readings. Of course other people would show up throughout the night, but only the above mentioned seemed to be loyal customers. It pissed Keith off. The tarot lady, in particular, got on his nerves easily: she would waste hours in the tiny room and usually ordered the least expensive things. He was considering offering her a job as a waitress, since she enjoyed being there so much. That way, he would have had much more free time and the woman would have had an actual reason for spending so many hours there each day. Keith had already tried to accidentally break the espresso machine in order to get rid of her, but Adam had noticed in time and called him out. He was compelled to take that plan off his list. Not that he kept one.  
That evening was the cherry on top of the cake (or cow pie), since his brother was apparently angry with him because of a comment he had made. That was the typical behavior of motherly-figure-Shiro. It wasn’t the only role Shiro could cover, of course, and not Keith’s favorite by a long shot. He adored his brother, but sometimes he seemed determined to fill in for all the roles lacking in Keith’s family. To the boy, that seemed pretty unnecessary.  
As he carefully placed an Apple Martini and a Piña Colada on his tray, he examined the events of the day to pinpoint where things had gone wrong.  

That day Matt had come over for lunch. Shiro, Adam and Matt had known each other since the beginning of high school, which meant that it had been about ten years. Of course Keith had grown fond of the guy as well, and he had pretty much started considering him as another older brother.  
As he chewed on the meatloaf Adam had prepared, he casually mentioned that Pidge was finally coming to visit for Christmas. Pidge was his sister and one of Keith’s favorite people on Earth. Not that he’d ever admit it. She was probably the sole reason Keith managed to get through high school and even signed up to get a degree at the local community college. Pidge, on the other hand, had been accepted into some fancy university where Keith would have probably been accepted too, except he did not want to be in debt for the rest of his life. Community college worked for him.  
The University was a several hours drive away from home, and Keith had only seen her once since she left: she avoided driving as much as she could and, for Thanksgiving, the whole Holt family flew to Portland to visit some relatives. Keith did not get to see her in that occasion either.  
He was thrilled: he couldn’t wait to update her on his college life and work experiences, and hear her tell him how amazing the lectures of the next semester would have been.    
The only way he managed to express how overwhelmingly delighted he felt was a high pitched, offended murmur:  
“I can’t believe she didn’t tell me...”  
“She probably assumed you were expecting it... but she will come back here on the 15th with a couple of friends who will leave right before Christmas. She will probably want you to meet them too!”    
“Woah, I might even get some social interaction outside of work! Isn’t that wild, Shiro?”  
“You’re making it sound like we treat you as a slave. Stop it.”  
“Not necessarily a slave, just a nineteen year old confined in a 1000 square feet space of pure boredom every night” he remarked in a sour tone. Shiro lowered his gaze on the plate that used to hold his meatloaf with a sigh.  
“Go get yourself another job if you are not content with the one you have right now, Keith” he hummed.  
“Hey! Is it just me or does this meatloaf start to taste like freedom?” Shiro let out an exasperated chuckle at the comment without adding anything.  
Adam was wise enough to start serving the tomato salad.  

Well, maybe Keith did know that what he had said was too harsh. His older brother only meant to help him, and he had brought his sarcastic observations a little too far. He wasn’t too sure of what to do next. Shiro left earlier claiming he was just too tired without even looking at him in the eye and Adam followed him shortly after, leaving him the duty to close the pub; the problem being that it was still too early to start putting the chairs up and clean the floor. Mainly because the tarot lady was still in there.   
He sat on the stool behind the counter and started fiddling on his phone, making sure to text Pidge and tell her that both of them were in a pool worth of shit (but for two different reasons) and going through some old conversations with random people.    
He heard the cold wind from outside enter the room and at first felt relieved because that meant that the tarot lady had left, then upset because that meant she had not paid for her espresso and churros, then absolutely disappointed because the woman was still sitting at her table and the boy with the most pretentious haircut he had ever seen had just walked in. He knew the guy. He was one of Ryan’s friends, James, and they had already met when Keith was still dating the boy. He wondered if the other remembered about him.    
“Hey, Keith! It’s crazy to see you. I had no clue you worked here!”    
That told him that James did, in fact, remember who he was. While he did date his friend for quite some time, he was hoping his demure nature would have gotten him a pass. That just wasn’t his lucky day.  
“James! Good to see you too. What can I get you, man?” he could tell the other boy was stoned. Or drunk. Or high. His red-rimmed eyes screamed stoned. He decided it was none of his business while watching the other guy turn around in a motion that was probably supposed to be stealthy.    
“Are those churros? Do you guys make those?” Keith tried to hold in his laughter.  
“Yes, yes we do. Would you like some?”  
“I’d love some! But to go. I really need to get home”    
“Is that your car parked out there?” Keith inquired, trying to figure out if the guy was driving in those conditions.  
“Huh? Which one do you mean? Oh no, actually no. I walked here.”  
Keith giggled and simply walked  into the kitchen, hoping Shiro had left some extra ones made. He found some and put them in a box, got out of the kitchen and handed them to the boy.  
“That will be $3.50” he mumbled, taking the bills James was handing him and giving him his change.    
“I’ll see you around?”  
"Oh man, totally! I need to tell Kinkade about this. He will lose his fucking mind..." he got out of the small space before Keith could hear more.  
He smiled to himself and checked his phone, noticing a message and a missed call from Pidge. He was about to call her back, but the tarot lady had at last decided to get up and pay.  
"An espresso and churros, right?"  
"I already know it's five dollars, no need to bother."  
Keith studied her expression as she took her wallet out of her small purse. Her choice of words was questionable, but she had not said them with a bitter or particularly rude tone. Keith found himself relating to her, somehow.  
"May I ask what your name is, ma'am?" he dared to ask. The woman looked up at him, hesitating.  
"You can call me Honerva. Do you have change for a ten, by any chance?" she asked, holding a ten dollar bill. Some comment about looking for the answer on her tarots crossed Keith's mind, but he quickly decided he had been enough of an asshole that day. He needed to redeem himself, somehow.  
"Today is on the house. I'm Keith, by the way."  
She looked at him with wide eyes and a small smile.  
"I heard that. Have a good night, Keith." the boy smiled back and she left the pub without adding another word.

Keith started putting the chairs on the tables in order to clean the floor shortly after she left. He grabbed the mop and decided to call Pidge back to keep him some company.  
"Look who decided to call back. Am I lucky or what?" Keith smiled widely at his friend's comment.  
"Some people have a job, ever heard of it?" he bit back, starting to mop while setting his phone on the counter after connecting it to his earbuds.  
"Didn't know you had become some kind of CEO. I beg your pardon, sir." Keith laughed at that. "Now, will you tell me what you've done?"  
"Your brother ate at our place today and told us that his sister was coming home for winter break - which is absolutely crazy. Did you know? Nobody told me. I had no idea!" Pidge groaned at that.  
"Seriously, Keith? What were you expecting? Did you want me to spend Christmas in my dorm?" she commented.  
"Maybe you were going to Portland again!"  
"Dude, one can only see their relatives every so often." Keith laughed at that.  
"That is not the point. He added that some of his sister's friends are visiting too - of course, I did not know that either - and that I should be excited to meet them. So I may or may not have commented about the absolute absence of fun in my everyday life since I've started working at the pub and now Shiro might be very pissed. That's it. No biggie."  
"You have managed to piss off Shiro? I am impressed. I aspire to get to your level of -"  
"Don't even say it. But seriously, what do I do? I felt so bad I offered coffee and churros to the tarot witch tonight. Do you think that means redemption, in the grand scheme of things? It's a good deed, right? Does it cancel out me offending Shiro?" He swore he heard Pidge snort.  
"In the grand scheme of things it may be a good thing, sure, but in the small scheme of things you need to apologize to Shiro and giving out free churros will possibly make him even more pissed. So please, consider telling him you're sorry. I can tell you are just by the way you're talking. And by the fact that you gave out free churros, of course."  
Keith eyed the analog clock hanging behind the counter.  
"I might have to do that tomorrow. He left early because he was tired... he'll be already asleep by the time I get home."  
"You're such a mess, Keith..."  
"But you won't believe who showed up tonight! Your highness James. He was crazy stoned. Like literally your highness. Do you get it?"

Keith and Pidge spent half a hour chatting, and by the end of the conversation Keith was just about ready to lock the door and get as far away from the pub as possible.   
He started making his way home, thinking about ways to apologize to his brother the next morning.  
Pancakes seemed to be the best option.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> I started writing this a couple months ago to let go of a pretty big emotional burden and finally decided to post it here because I needed the motivation to finish it. I only have a couple chapters ready but hopefully posting here will put an end to my procrastination. :)  
> I know this seems lighthearted enough but don't worry, there is going to be a fair amount of angst pretty soon.  
> Also, the tarot lady sitting at pubs for hours comes from personal experience. I couldn't not name her Honerva.  
> Feel free to let me know if you liked it or if you hated it! I'll take all sorts of advice.  
> Expect updates every couple of weeks - college life is hectic and I am slow.  
> Love, G.


	2. Lake Washington Boulevard

Keith, of course, had not woken up in time to make pancakes for Shiro. His older brother though, being the good, wholesome, forgiving soul he was, had made pancakes for him. Keith was slightly startled when a knock on his door pulled him out of his deep sleep, and he opened his eyes for just enough time to see his brother’s figure.   
“Adam and I made breakfast, do you care for a plate?” he asked kindly.   
“I was gonna make breakfast, actually” Keith responded, his mouth a bit dry. His statement came out more as a cranky  groan. He heard Shiro snort.   
“I am afraid it’s too late for that. Maybe get up before eleven, next time?”   
“I closed the pub last night, you bit-” the door closing interrupted the rest of his sentence. Keith sighed and hid his face in the pillow, trying to gather enough strength to get out of bed and face that day, which he remembered would make him uncomfortable to say the least. It took him a couple moments to remember the reason. It took him a couple moments to remember that _shit_ Shiro was mad at him and he had just unleashed his irascible self at him and _shit shit shit_ \- the shot of adrenaline caused by the sudden feeling of guilt definitely did something for his lack of energy. He crawled out of the blankets and put his slippers on as he stretched his arms over his head, trying to come up with a decent apology. He finally found the motivation necessary to get out of the room. When he got into the kitchen he was welcomed with an all too familiar scene: his brother was trying to stick as many pancakes as he could in an off-brand tupperware container while Adam quietly ate his breakfast, sitting alone at their small table. Shiro turned around when he heard Keith approaching him.   
“We need to talk” the boy said, trying hard to keep a steady tone. How sleepy he felt had nothing to do with the fact that his voice was on the verge of breaking. As usual is brother managed to understand him, though, and decided to keep it casual.   
“I’ll consider it after you shower, you social butterfly” he answered, smiling. The nickname made it absolutely clear that he was still angry for what happened the previous day. _Shit_ .   
“I’m dead serious. Will you _please_ talk to me? In my room?”   
“Do you think that hearing a discussion will shock Adam?” Keith was growing impatient.   
“Can you try to make this easier on me?”   
“You were not so shy yesterday, were you?”   
Keith lost it. Keith was also aware that Shiro knew that he had crossed a line. He simply turned around and walked to his bedroom, completely conscious of Shiro following him. He sat on his bed, grabbing his pillow and placing it on his legs.   
“I am sorry, Shiro. I mean it. You know I do not actually think what I said yesterday - you two guys give me stability and I can’t even explain how much I appreciate it. It’s just - sometimes - I feel absolutely claustrophobic. And after August happened when Pidge left and Matt was not really around anymore either and college and -”   
“Kinkade,” Shiro softly suggested.   
“- yeah, that… I just felt like this was all I would do for the rest of my life, you know? Studying and maybe never getting a degree and be completely lonely and just fucking waiting the tarot lady’s table for the rest of my life. It’s not what I would like to do and someti-”   
“Keith, Keith. Listen to me, will you? I was never actually mad about what you said. I know it was just you avoiding some sort of last minute implosion,” he chuckled “but I was unhappy because I was sure you were improving on the whole communication thing and yesterday pretty much suggested that you… weren’t? I was extremely frustrated bec-”   
“Shiro, Shiro, stop right there. It’s ok to get mad at me. I know I would! I know that conveying my feelings is not exactly my forte but yesterday was only about me being an asshole. I didn’t even mean what I said - I was just snappy, I suppose. Don’t try to justify everything I do, because sometimes there is just no explanation.”   
Shiro sighed and observed Keith’s face for a little bit. His expression seemed almost concerned, but then it opened in a smile.   
“I guess you were just being a snarky bitch, then.” he commented. Keith laughed softly.   
“I was! Why aren’t you hating me?”   
“I am too relieved knowing that you do not actually hate me. I can save the complaining for later.”   
“You’re a good brother, Shiro. I know sometimes it’s just yelling and ugly fighting, but you mean the world to me. Please don’t ever doubt that.” Keith admitted, fiddling with the hem of his pillow case. That prevented him from seeing Shiro getting teary eyed.   
“Come on, you haven’t eaten your breakfast yet,” Shiro whispered, leaving the room. Keith followed, noticing how is stomach had finally settled even though he hadn't even filled it yet.

 

“Did you ask Pidge about those friends coming down here with her for the break?” Adam asked, mindlessly wiping the bar counter. They were getting ready to open the place for that night.  
Keith bit lightly his tongue before answering.  
“I forgot to do that last night,” he said, pulling out his phone, “might as well text her and ask her now”.  
Pidge messaged him back only a couple hours later, while he was busy serving the Saturday night customers.

_Just two pals from uni. Do you remember Shay who went to school with us? One of them is her boyfriend  
_ ****

**_Any further info you’d like to add?  
_ **

_Nah_

Keith snickered at her friend’s response, utterly unsurprised. He knew he would have to inquire during a call. He did remember Shay as an absolute sweetheart, though, so that led him to believe that her partner would be the same way. Still, he didn’t know anything with certainty. He typed “apprwciate it” quickly and, without minding the typo, sent it to his friend.  
He started wondering how, exactly, the two people had become friends with Pidge in the first place. It could have been because of her love for technology or for her witty, blunt sense of humor; in either case, the boy was not so sure he would fit in with the group. Keith’s harshness went way beyond his mere sense of humor and his wits were often annoying. Needless to add, he didn’t understand anything related to technology. He started asking himself if meeting Pidge’s friends was actually as good of an idea as it looked or if he would only end up looking weird and inadequate and pushing Pidge away the same way he had pushed Ry-  
“Keith, the ladies asked for two _strawberry_ mimosas and a mojito, right?” Adam interrupted his disruptive trail of thoughts. Keith knew perfectly that Adam remembered exactly what the two ladies had ordered and that he had just noticed that he was zoning out. This was something his brother’s fiance did often to pull him out of his own head without actually invading his privacy or bothering him, and it always led him to wonder how exactly Shiro had ended up with someone so thoughtful. He realized he hadn’t answered yet. He smiled at Adam and nodded, implicitly thanking him.

  
Keith knew Ryan had loved him. He could feel it when he made sure that Keith’s seat belt was buckled, when he loosely curled his hair around his finger in the moments he realized that he was overthinking, when he quietly held him on the days Keith did not have anything to say. Or he simply could not find the words to express what he was feeling. Keith knew that Ryan had cried for days after leaving him, but Keith could not say the same. He didn’t even seem to realize what had happened - it took him three days to finally shed a tear, but that wasn’t a major episode: those were rare and seemingly random. Ten days later, the boy spent five hours crying under his blankets. The only thing that got him out was thinking about how worried Adam and Shiro had to be and his fear to disappoint them. When he finally got out of his room, the two held him without speaking a word for a good ten minutes. Sort of like Ryan used to do. Since then, he would randomly burst in tears every now and then. He did not quite understand the logic behind it - he was not even sure all of it was mourning his ended relationship with Ryan. He decided that heartbreak could lead to a series of different moods: sadness was the most common one, of course, but it did not seem so relevant in Keith’s experience. He felt unmotivated, bored, eager, and vital in no specific order; he knew that he could wake up feeling bubbly and become absolutely miserable by the end of the day for no clear reason and vice versa.  
Dating Ryan had exposed sides of Keith he didn’t even know existed: he had discovered an unexpected love for physical contact, the pleasures of giving instead of receiving, and how easy it could be to let someone in when you felt nothing but utter and genuine affection for them. Ryan treated him with nothing but respect - he almost acted as if Keith was made of crystal and it was his job to maintain his well being. He had such charming manners and he loved Keith in the most pure, undeniable way. Keith’s affection was more naive, in certain ways. It was raw, brave and desperately intense; standing precariously on the edge between needy and afraid. It was his first relationship, after all.  
On a hot August Monday Ryan broke up with him. He had asked Keith to come over, and he could still recall the relief he had felt upon walking through the unlocked door in the air conditioned living room. He spotted Ryan’s parents sitting on the couch and thought it was weird, since Ryan usually invited him over when they were absent, but dismissed the thought while greeting them. He quickly got upstairs and walked in Ryan’s bedroom with a huge grin on his face, finding him sitting on the floor among all the boxes containing decorations for Ryan’s dorm they had bought together.  
“Hi, love,” Keith greeted softly.  
“Hey,” murmured the other boy. An alarm in the back of Keith’s mind went off. Ryan’s behavior was often very guarded, but this seemed solely cold. Keith decided to sit in front of him and noticed how Ryan didn’t even try to leave a peck on his lips like he usually would.  
“Are you getting the college blues again? I told you it’s going to be even easier than last year! Now I can come visit way more often, right? It’s only a two hour drive and I am not in high school anymore, so I can come whenever.”  
Ryan smiled tenderly. His first year of college had not been easy on them: Ryan had to adapt to a brand new world and Keith, going through his senior year of high school, could only visit ever so often.  
“You’re splendid,” was the only answer he gave, and he felt tears forming in his eyes.  
“Why are you crying? You shouldn’t - you don’t need to worry…” Keith whispered, taking the other boy’s hand in his. His heart skipped a beat when Ryan pulled it away. There was a short, heavy silence between them before Ryan spoke again.  
“I don’t even know how to say this, I-I,” he swallowed thickly and started again, “I need a break. We both do.”  
“Wait, what are you talking about?”  
“I am leaving for sophomore year and you’re goi- you’re starting college. You’re meeting new people! And so am I. And I feel like both of us should go through this alone. Does this make sense? We ha-”  
Ryan looked up in Keith’s eyes and found them to be completely numb and distant. He felt his heart clench. He was expecting that sort of reaction, since detachment was how his boyfriend usually dealt with problems and pain he did not feel ready to handle. He had hoped the dialogue could be smoother and more balanced, but he was aware that a conversation could not be that easy if it involved breaking up with someone. Especially if that someone was Keith.  
“It really doesn’t make sense, no,” Keith interrupted him callously. Ryan was taken aback, but he recovered quickly.  
“Please, please just listen to me… It’s not like I am enjoying this, Keith. I just- I need to be alone, and maybe so do you. We have been together- we have been together almost a year and a half and it has been gorgeous- but we are growing apart and into two different people, Keith…” the other boy snorted.  
“Since when do we have to be the same person? I don’t think I understand what you are saying. Is it because you want to be alone or because I am boring you? Just please don’t bullshit me here, I am truly trying to get what you are saying. I can’t, though-”  
“Keith, I love you. I know- I know you know I do. I can’t just switch that off one day and decide I don’t anymore. You mean the world to me and-”  
“ _You mean the world to me and therefore I will have to break up with you_. Makes perfect sense. I really thought you were the levelheaded one between the two of us, huh?”  
“ _Keith-”  
_ “Why is this happening again? Is it because you love me too much or something? Do I deserve more? No really, what is your excuse going to be? Do you not have the fucking guts to tell me the true reason?”  
“I know what you’re doing, I know you’re shutting me out, but please, please don’t do that-”  
Keith didn’t remember much of how the conversation went after that point, truly. He surely wished he did. He could recollect the mess Ryan was - crying, sobbing, whispering and apologizing - and he also recalled just getting up and leaving. He felt like he was observing the scene from a third point of view. He remembered walking downstairs but could not recall seeing Ryan’s parents. He stepped outside of the house and got mad because he just _couldn’t_ cry, and maybe a little bit of rain would have made him feel worse and the whole scene would have been much more dramatic, but the problem was that the sun was out and the only thing he was angry about was the outrageous heat of that day. He remembered he had breathed in deeply, stepped in his car and driven to the nearest ice cream shop.

 He grabbed the tray Adam had put the strawberry mimosas and the mojito on as he felt his eyes water at the memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter, if you celebrate it!  
> Let me know what you think of the chapter if you'd like. :)  
> G. xx


	3. American Sports

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos to whoever finds the Heathers reference in this chapter. Sorry.

If Keith knew something, it was that getting details out of Pidge was as painful as stabbing his own thigh repeatedly. In the couple of weeks following the  _ homecoming _ news he had tried to extrapolate as much information as possible from the girl, mainly concerning the friends travelling with her, but with scarce results. The only certain information he had been provided with was that they lived in a nearby town, that Pidge and Shay would have gone there for the end of the Christmas break, and that the two guys visiting had basically become Pidge’s best friends. Keith had denied being hurt in any way by the last statement. He had lied.   
Stalking Shay’s instagram had helped him get to the conclusion that the two coming to visit their town were, basically, a sweet Gordon Ramsay studying engineering and some boy from the college swimming team whose Instagram account had no discernible personality. He knew enough, but he desperately wanted to find out more.    
Now, Pidge had not given him a specific date for their arrival - he had just assumed that she would alert him when she was done with her finals and then start the short road trip to come back home.   
Pidge had not mentioned a specific date, and that was his excuse when he had to justify the shocked expression on his face when, in the evening of December 17th, he found Pidge, Shay, and the two guys he recognized from Shay’s instagram page sitting at the pub. To make matters worse, he had not been there when they showed up: Shiro and Adam were on opening time duty, and all he got was a cryptic text from the latter saying that  _ someone _ he  _ did not want to miss  _ had walked in. Keith entered the small space with the assumption that it would have been Matt, someone from college they had recognized or, best case scenario,  _ Ryan _ .    
It took him a handful of seconds to react after seeing the small figure of her friend sitting in front of a curly head leaning on a tall, robust boy. He was about to scream, but decided against it for the sake of his dignity. Pidge spoke before he could come up with something to say.   
“Is that the worst friend on planet Earth or what?”    
Not what Keith was expecting.

“Excuse me?!” he replied, feigning outrage. Pidge chuckled.   
“You never even asked me when I’d be in town! Of course I would have lied to still get to see the dumbass face you have right now, but you didn’t even ask!”   
“I can totally see you’re making an effort to trash my reputation, midget.” he walked towards the table and offered his hand to the muscular boy, who shook it immediately. “Good to meet you, I’m Keith. I am assuming you’re Shay’s boyfriend?”   
“That’s me, yes,” he replied, smiling. Keith already felt comfortable in his presence, even though is brain was suggesting him not to because the boy could probably end him with one punch.   
“I didn’t catch your name…”   
“That’s because I forgot to mention it. I’m Hunk!” and in that moment Keith realized there was no way Hunk would ever punch him.    
“Hey, Shay! It’s great to see you again” he greeted, moving on. The girl got up to hug him.   
“Oh, how I missed your pretty eyes! I haven’t seen you in so long!” she answered, caressing his scalp. Keith smiled in her shoulder. Hunk and her were definitely a good match.   
He faintly heard the restroom door opening as he pulled away from the hug. Shay started stroking his cheek with her thumb.   
“You look good. I am glad you’re good.” Keith started getting flustered at that and chuckled nervously.   
“Hadn’t Pidge mentioned he’s gay, I would be throwing a jealous fit right now.” joked Hunk. Shay laughed at that, finally letting go of Keith completely and sitting again.   
“No, you wouldn’t,” she shot him. Hunk’s grin was so wide it couldn’t not hurt.    
“No, I wouldn’t.”    
“I love that you two portrait a perfectly healthy relationship even when you’re joking. I promise I am aspiring to find someone who will be as right for me as you two are for each other.”    
Keith turned towards the source of the voice, guessing it must have been the guy who was using the bathroom. He recognized the boy as the one in the swim team - except he didn’t post too many pictures of himself on Instagram and Keith was starting to think he should have been doing that.    
“Nice to meet you, the name’s Lance. You must be Keith, right?” he added offering his hand to the boy, who shook it promptly.   
He realized later that he had probably been the first one to introduce himself because the amount of time Keith had been looking at him without saying anything was getting uncomfortable.   
“Yes, that’s me. Good to meet you!” he replied, suddenly anxious, as he tried to leave as quickly as possible.   
“Do I not deserve a hug or…?” he heard a voice behind him when he was finally getting behind the counter. He turned around and almost glared at Pidge as he walked back towards the table. He pulled her in a hug immediately, feeling guilty.   
“I missed your face and your stupid glasses.” he whispered. She laughed.   
“Leave my glasses alone. I missed you too, Keith.” she murmured back. He kissed her hair and let her go, making his way to the counter.   
“What can I offer you, guys?” Adam half-shouted from behind the counter.    
“Legally not much, sadly,” Pidge answered quickly.   
Adam smiled and scanned the room to make sure no customer had arrived yet.   
“And illegally?” he tried again, “please go for cocktails, so if someone sees you they’ll think they’re just virgin drinks”.    
Keith laughed, and so did the whole table. He was the first to answer.   
“Do I get one too?”   
“Oh no baby, you can get whatever you want after I leave and you’re here alone to close this place. Like you do most times, even though I pretend I don’t notice” Adam answered in a witty manner.    
“Ouch” he replied, smiling and lowering his gaze.    
  
While the pub was still half empty Keith had managed to sit with Pidge and her friends. She and Hunk opted for a 7 Up and a coke, while Lance ordered a Margarita and Shay a Piña Colada. Keith was resigned to wait in front of a constantly refilled basket of churros. That was his dinner, after all. His greasy, fried, arguable dinner. Shiro must have thought that the pub was full, given the amount of churros Keith was asking him to prepare.    
“Do you guys make those here?” Lance asked, nodding towards them.    
“You mean the churros? Yeah, my brother makes them” he answered, picking another one, “try one, if you’d like. You guys too”   
Lance smiled after he heard him say that.   
“What?” Keith questioned.   
“What are those called again?”   
“Churros?” Lance openly laughed at that one.    
“Oh Lance, don’t bully him now…” Shay intervened.    
“I thought white people were the only ones who couldn’t roll their r’s!” he managed to answer. Keith rolled his eyes.   
“Rude! I can roll my r’s perfectly, you jackass” Pidge commented. Lance did nothing but keep laughing.   
“You’re shitting me…” Keith murmured, hiding his face in his hands. Someone patted his back.   
“He does that a lot. If it can make you feel better, he cannot pronounce  _ squirrel _ to save his life” Hunk comforted him. Keith’s embarrassment turned into hilarity in a matter of seconds.   
“You’re laughing at  _ me _ and you’re one of those people who cannot say  _ squirrel _ properly?” he asked incredulously, facing Lance again. The boy stopped laughing quickly, but he was still grinning.    
“Oh, don’t get too frustrated! I think it’s cute that you can’t roll r’s.” he replied. Keith did not pretend not to hear the flirty undertone.    
“Aw, thanks!” Keith saw the tarot lady walk into the pub from the corner of his eye, “I cannot give you my number right now, though,” he added, nodding towards the woman, “duty calls”. And, saying that, he got up and went to her table to welcome her, just like he did most nights.    
“What was  _ that _ ?” Pidge whisper-shouted after making sure Keith was out of hearing range. Lance, who had a light blush on his cheeks, simply shrugged.    
“Are you really flirting with my best friend? He is hurt right now! Don’t think you can just hook up with him and call it a day. He’s fragi-”   
“Katie, Katie, relax. Nothing happened! We just joked. There’s no need to panic. And you know I am looking for a serious relationship right now, so you can sleep easy.” Lance tried to reassure her. Hunk and Shay watched the scene, entertained.    
“Yeah but he flirted back so maybe he likes you? If you dare to mistreat him I swear to God, Lance, I will kill you with my bare hands”   
“I didn’t do anything, Pidge! Relax!”    
“Yeah, Lance’s right. That was harmless kidding, you shouldn’t lose your mind over it.” interjected Shay. Pidge stayed silent, following the waiter’s figure with confused eyes.    
  
When Pidge saw that Keith had a spare moment, during which he was mindlessly wiping the counter, she bolted out of her seat and sat on one of the stools. He looked at her, amused.   
“Can I help you with anything, ma’am?” he inquired.   
“Do you like Lance?” she asked. He snickered at that.   
“Isn’t it a bit too early to determine that?” Pidge did not seem satisfied with the response. “No, Pidge. He’s fun and I messed around a little bit, that’s it.”   
“How is it going with the R-bomb?” she asked quietly. Keith’s amused expression dropped immediately, and Pidge deduced her answer before she was given one.   
“Meh. I have my ups and downs. That  _ same shit, different day _ sort of deal, you know?” Pidge grabbed his hand and squeezed it, trying to smile reassuringly.    
“Hey, I have friends over. Try to have some fun, how does it sound?”   
“You know I will, Pidge.” he replied, smiling softly.   
  
At 1.30 AM Shiro and Adam left, leaving Keith the duty to close the pub. Everyone had left, including the tarot lady, and Pidge, Hunk, and Shay were ready to leave too. Lance wasn’t.   
“Are you guys serious? We could get away with stealing all the booze in the world right now and we have to  _ leave _ ?”   
“I mean, not  _ all the booze in the w- _ ” Keith was interrupted by Pidge.   
“Come on, Lance! You know I have to drive Hunk and Shay at Shay’s place and then we need to go home. You didn’t even unpack properly. We need to go, buddy”   
“Yeah but… I mean we could stay here a bit longer…” Lance abruptly turned towards Keith. “Can I stay here? Does Pidge live near you? Maybe you could drop me off later? Please?” Keith could not believe how spontaneous the other boy was.   
“I walk home, actually… Pidge’s house is not too close. Not walking, at least. But you can stay at my place tonight, if you want? I have a couch, if that’s ok with you. Or we can walk to my place and then I’ll get my car there and drive to Pidge’s. Whatever you prefer…”   
“Are you seriously humoring him?” Hunk asked, amused. Keith just shrugged.    
“That sounds perfect! We’ll stay here until closing time and then I’ll text you, Pidge, to let you know what I am doing.”   
Pidge sighed, murmuring a “whatever”.   
Not much happened in the first ten minutes, really. Keith learned a bit about Lance, and Lance did not learn much about Keith. They drank a glass of beer together as Lance put the chairs up while Keith mopped the floor, and truly nothing, nothing happened. Lance’s voice was constant and soothing and genuine and even reassuring. Keith wished he could talk that easily too.   
The door opened.   
Two figures walked in: Keith determined in a matter of seconds who the first one was, James, and in the short lapse of time that anticipated recognizing the second one he felt a shiver run up his spine.    
He didn’t identify Ryan immediately: his locks had gotten much longer and they almost covered his undercut, and he seemed even more muscular than before. After Keith understood who was in front of him he didn’t know where to look, then he settled for James.   
“Can I help you?” he almost whispered, feeling almost dizzy.   
“Keith! Do you have those churros still? We’re starving” the guy asked.    
Keith could feel Ryan’s confused stare on him. He knew the other boy was regretting walking through the door of that pub as much as Keith. He wasn’t even brave enough to glance at him.   
“We-we don’t, sorry. You should have come earlier…”   
“Man, can you believe that?” James said, turning towards Ryan. Keith finally dared to look at him.   
“We’ll go to Wendy’s, for fuck’s sake. Thanks anyways, Keith” the boy answered, taking James by the sleeve of his hoodie and walking out as quickly as he had walked in.   
He knew he needed to act natural in front of Lance, who was giving him a questioning look.   
“Fucking stoners from my high school.” he murmured. Lance just hummed in understanding. Keith filled his empty glass with beer again.   
Instead of going through the hassle of using the tiny gate to leave the bar area and go back to mopping, Keith decided to sit on the counter and spin, letting his legs hang in the empty space under him. Lance sat on the stool between his legs.    
“I feel like my only option now is to stay at your place… I don’t want you to drink and drive. Not that I am complaining…” Lance whispered. Keith took another sip of his beer.   
“Good. I really think you should stay at my place tonight” he murmured with a flirtatious smile.    
Lance kissed him before Keith could even try to close the distance between them. The kiss was slow, and to Keith it almost seemed tender, caring.  _ Like Ryan’s _ . He sped up the pace before his mind could drift any further, putting a hand on Lance’s shoulder and one in his hair. Keith felt Lance’s hand on his cheek, slowly caressing it, and smiled a little bit. That wasn’t what he was expecting from the first kiss with a guy who was, virtually, a stranger.    
“You’ll be the death of me.” Lance murmured, and Keith could feel his breath on his lips. His heart skipped a beat as he frantically looked for an answer to the comment, and he could swear that the room had started to spin. He breathed in deeply.   
“I need to finish mopping before we can go home, sweetheart.” he replied, jumping off the counter, before grabbing the mop. He continued his job, ignoring the way his hands were shaking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> I'm a week late (what's new), I should be sleeping but I still managed to zombie my way out of this chapter.  
> It's short but intense.  
> The next one might be more intense. Heh.  
> Feel free to let me know what you think!  
> G.


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